Young, Bennet Reintroduce Legislation to Combat National Eviction Crisis

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), members of the Senate Finance Committee, reintroduced the Eviction Crisis Act of 2026 . This legislation would address our urgent national eviction crisis, creating an emergency rental assistance program to reduce preventable evictions and making it easier for American families to stay securely housed. “Many families are one unexpected expense away from losing the stability that comes with having a place to call home,” said Senator Young . “The Eviction Crisis Act would help prevent avoidable evictions by better coordinating tenants, landlords, and municipalities to address housing instability before it becomes a crisis. Passing this bill will help more Hoosiers families stay in their homes.” “Today, an illness, a car accident, or a family emergency can lead to a family being evicted from their home and falling into a cycle of poverty,” said Senator Bennet . “The hardship caused by eviction is agonizing for the millions of American families facing it every year, and that harm reverberates across our communities. As a former school superintendent, I saw kids unable to stay awake in class because they didn’t have a stable place to sleep the night before. I’ve heard from many Coloradans about how one misstep led to their lives falling apart. Our Eviction Crisis Act will both prevent eviction and limit the harm when it is unavoidable.” “BPC Action commends Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) for leading the Eviction Crisis Act , which would create an emergency assistance program for at-risk households, establish a national evictions database, and fund community courts and diversion programs. For too many families, unexpected hardship—such as job loss or medical expenses—makes rent unaffordable, triggering homelessness and poverty cycles. This legislation is a necessary investment to stabilize housing and economic opportunity, and we look forward to working with Congress to enact it,” said Michele Stockwell, President of Bipartisan Policy Center Action. Our country’s eviction crisis is driven by a national affordable housing shortage that is particularly acute for low-income renters. In 2024, the Congressional Research Service calculated that 49.4 percent of renter households spent more than 30 percent of household income on housing costs and 26.2 percent of renter households spent more than half. Additionally, the Eviction Crisis Act of 2026 will improve data and analysis on evictions, reduce preventable evictions, mitigate eviction-related consequences, and strengthen protections for renters in tenant screening reports. The text of the bill is available here . A summary of the bill is available here . Additional supportive quotes from organizations are available here .